1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fluid pumps and, in particular, to pumps that pump fluids when acted upon by external forces of a cyclic or non-cyclic nature.
2. Related Art
Numerous fluid pumps are driven by an external cyclic driving force that forces the diaphragms or flexible chambers to deflate/inflate, in a repetitive manner, in order to pump fluids therethrough having one-way valves attached to chambers to insure one-way flow. The cyclic forces are provided by electric motors and/or a fluid pressure source. Examples of these types of pumps are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 238,639, issued to Boerner on Mar. 8, 1881 and entitled xe2x80x9cAir Pumpxe2x80x9d; U.S. Pat. No. 4,012,178, issued to Puckett on Mar. 15, 1977 and entitled xe2x80x9cHydraulic Pump With Replaceable Pumping Memberxe2x80x9d; U.S. Pat. No. 4,373,867, issued to Campbell on Feb. 15, 1983 and entitled xe2x80x9cPressure Charged Airlift Pumpxe2x80x9d; U.S. Pat. No. 4,523,903, issued to Arens on Jun. 18, 1985 and entitled xe2x80x9cDosing Pumpxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,381,675, issued to Siegel on Jan. 17, 1995 and entitled xe2x80x9cForce-Sparing Balanced Bellows Refrigeration Devicexe2x80x9d.
Other types of fluid pumps pump only upon a demand such, as provided by a human user. Examples of these types of pumps are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,118,596, issued to Saile on Jan. 21, 1964 and entitled xe2x80x9cPumpsxe2x80x9d and U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,143, issued to Pekar et al on Oct. 15, 1996 and entitled xe2x80x9cCheck Valve for Fluid Bladdersxe2x80x9d.
The moment pump of the present invention is dimensioned and configured so that an external biasing force will cause the moment pump to pump a fluid. The moment pump comprises a flexible container having an outer wall, a first end wall and an opposite end wall, the walls cooperating to form an interior chamber of the flexible container. The interior chamber has a transfer housing positioned within the interior chamber and the transfer housing has an outer wall which has a first end wall with an aperture therein and an opposite end wall. The transfer housing walls cooperate to form an interior restraining member chamber. A first actuator rod is dimensioned and configured for connection to a first biasing object at one end thereof when in operation, being fixedly connected to the first end wall of the container, and having a longitudinal restraining member on the other end which is positioned within the interior restraining member chamber. A second actuator rod is dimensioned and configured for connection to a second biasing object at one end thereof when in operation. The second actuator rod is slidably connected to the opposite end wall of the container, and is fixedly connected to the opposite end wall of the transfer housing. A plurality of biasing tension actuators are connected to the transfer housing and the outer wall of the flexible container whereby a biasing force applied to the actuator rods, either singly or together, causes the outer wall of the flexible container to contract in the direction of the transfer housing, whereby the interior chamber""s volume decreases. Upon release of the biasing force, the outer wall of the flexible container returns to its unbiased shaped. In order to pump fluid, an input fluid connector is attached to the flexible container and has a one-way valve operably connected thereto. An output fluid connector is attached to the flexible container and has a one-way valve operably connected thereto, whereby the application and release of the biasing force causes the flexible container to pump fluid therethrough.
Therefore, the present invention provides a moment pump that operates by means of a nature force and need not be cyclic in nature.
These and many other objects and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to one skilled in the pertinent art from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention and related drawings.